This week shows the latest jobless claims across the United States are just as bad as they were last week and the initial claims for the benefits for unemployment are holding steady at approximately 370,000.

It appears that although United States has steadily been adding jobs they are not going anywhere near as quickly as they expected; there were only 150,000 new jobs added in the month of April which is actually the fewest in the last six months.

Many economists are advising us not to become overly concerned because traditionally, the month of April is usually a slow month when it comes to adding jobs. There is some good news however; there was some momentum gained in the way the United States was constructing homes as well as the activity in its factories. Aside from that, stores such as Walmart posted better-than-average earnings for the first quarter of the year and happily reported that they saw many more shoppers at their stores who were spending much more money.

Foreclosures on Homes Have Dropped

Furthermore, according to RealtyTrac, the foreclosures on homes across the US dropped to its lowest level in the last five years during the month of April.

Even so, according to experts, because of the debt crisis in Europe as well as the tax burden we must all face in our households, the economy doesn’t look like it’s going to turnaround drastically anytime soon. We also have the threat of having to pay much higher oil prices within the next few months.

Living Paycheck to Paycheck is Still the Norm

This is still a time where we have to be mindful of our finances and plan as much as possible for the near future so we don’t fall deeper into debt. Living from paycheck to paycheck is very much the norm for the majority of people these days but if we can figure out ways to cut costs, we can slowly start to crawl out of that hole, too. The latest jobless claims fall is not here yet but knowing the US economy, we have something to look forward to; we just have to keep being amazingly patient like we have been.